FG in fight to finish, files fresh charges against Justices Ngwuta, Ademola at CCT

It appears the Federal Government is not ready to leave any stone unturned in its pursuit to ensure Supreme Court judge, Sylvester Ngwuta, and his counterpart, a Federal High Court judge, Adeniyi Ademola, do not go unscathed in their alleged involvement in corruption.

This was as the Federal Government on Wednesday filed two separate charges against them at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) alleging that the two embattled justices contravened the Code of Conduct Bureau, (CCB) Act.

The two justices, Ngwuta and Ademola are already facing separate corruption charges before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court and the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory respectively.

Details of the fresh charges were made known by Salihu Isah, the spokesperson of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in a statement he released on Wednesday.

According to Isah, the applications at the CCT requesting the tribunal to commence trial of the two judges were filed by the office of the AGF, through the principal state counsel at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Hajara Yusuf, for the AGF, pursuant to Section 24 of the CCB and Tribunal Act.

Part of the statement read, “In the FG request to arraign Justice Ngwuta, the application averred that he engaged in private business as a public officer, contrary to Section 6(b) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. He is also alleged to have refused to declare his assets as a public officer contrary to Section 15 of the Code of Conduct Bureau Act, Cap C15 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and Punishable under Section 23(2) of the same Act.

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“Justice Ngwuta is expected to face a ten count charge. Part of the charges against him includes that; between 2nd June 2011 and 19th July 2016 while serving as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Tribunal, that Justice Ngwuta did make a false declaration of assets to the CCB when he failed to declare three duplexes at Chinedu Ogah Avenue, Ntezi, Aba in Abakaliki, while being a Justice of the Supreme Court.”

The statement highlighted Ngwuta’s other alleged offences to include false declaration to the CCB when he failed to declare 22 plots of land at Igwe Uga Avenue, Abakaliki, between June 2, 2011 and July 19, 2016, while serving as a justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, failure to declare six plots of land at Frank Okoroafor Avenue, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State among others.

In the case of Justice Ademola, he was accused of involving himself in buying and selling foreign exchange currencies, while still functioning as a judge of the Federal High Court, thereby committing an offence against the dictate of section 6 of the CCB and Tribunal Act.

 

 

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